Mike's blog

After forgetting to move my car and getting a ticket that then blew away in the snowstorm, I saw in town hall that you can pay parking tickets online here: parkingticketpayment.com/watertown

This is a different service than I founded listed on the Watertown website. The downside is they charge a $3.50 fee (which on a $15 ticket is over 20% markup). Anyway, I hadn't seen it listed online elsewhere, so I thought I'd share the link.

In the mail last week there was an invite to a neighborhood meeting organized by the Hanover Company about the proposed 182 unit apartment building on Grove Street in East Watertown (on the former Aggregate Industries property site). The event is at The Atrium School at 69 Grove St. at 6:30pm on January 10th.

The sale was written about in the Globe last Sept. when:

"Town officials are checking to see whether the developers of a proposed apartment complex in East Watertown are under scrutiny by the state for their business practices."

Tivo is running a new set of ads and a new website called mytivogetsme.com that includes local events. This Sunday from 12-2 they will be at the Arsenal Mall doing demos and giveaways. For those who haven't experienced the joys of Tivo, it might be fun if you are out...

Today's Globe has a piece on a Paul Green's new School of Rock opening in Watertown near the Watertown Mall on Elm Street. Time to mint some young Watertown rock stars!

Saw this about Watertown company A123 System in the NYTimes:

A New Battery Takes Off in a Race to Electric Cars

Saw this through Bostonist, a mashup site that pulls restaurants reviews from many sources. Here is their section on Watertown restaurants:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/4/341/Boston/Watertown.html

Looks like it could be handy.

I saw a story in this morning's Globe about a local group trying to block adding 12 more cell towers on Bigelow Ave. First I'd read about it.

I like a good holiday display complete with too many lights (and I've started seeing more of those giant snow globes). Anyone have neighbors or have seen houses that have gone all out this year?

I saw recently that Somerville has an illumination tour and wondered what addresses would be on a Watertown tour.

I voted today in East Watertown in the morning, and didn't hit any lines. This is one of the high holiday days in my American "faith". Even though in Massachusetts there are often uncompetitive races, I love the whole process. The local supporters waving signs in the Fall weather, the connection to past elections, the excitement (in cases) over who we'll win. Looking forward to watching the national coverage tonight.

Saw an aggregator of local news at Outside.in for Watertown. Looks like it mostly aggregates stuff from Globe West. While the h2otown is impossible to beat, it has more of a manual/editorial style, and I've been on the lookout for more automated collector of local information. Not sure if this will be the one...